Vinva Investment Management Ltd Raises Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in CME Group were worth $4,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $871,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in CME Group by 70.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,427,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,157,000 after buying an additional 1,003,119 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in CME Group by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,435,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,671,000 after buying an additional 996,498 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,967,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 698.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 544,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,384,000 after acquiring an additional 476,019 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company's stock.

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CME Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CME stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $262.94. 2,131,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,929,391. The stock has a market cap of $94.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. CME Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.70 and a fifty-two week high of $267.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.35.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 57.52%. Equities analysts expect that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from CME Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CME. Citigroup cut CME Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CME Group from $256.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,873 shares in the company, valued at $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hilda Harris Piell sold 3,984 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.47, for a total value of $997,872.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $6,774,211.62. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,076 shares of company stock valued at $6,871,496 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

CME Group Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.